In a tweet sent from its verified Twitter account and citing “officials,” the Associated Press reported Thursday that the United States is considering allowing Iran to build centrifuges in a fortified underground bunker. (VIDEO: CNN To Earnest: Why Does White House Trust Iranian Leader Who Chants ‘Death To America’?)
There appear to be some confusion about the nature of the centrifuges. The AP was originally clear that the centrifuges in question would be nuclear.
BREAKING: Officials: US considers letting Iran run nuclear centrifuges at fortified underground bunker.
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 26, 2015
But 20 minutes later, it retracted that part of its reporting, while standing by the rest.
Officials: US considers letting Iran run centrifuges at fortified underground bunker. (Deletes reference to 'nuclear' centrifuges.)
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 26, 2015
In an interview on MSNBC the same day, former Obama Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said that the Iran deal should be judged in part on how many centrifuges Iran was allowed to maintain. “My concern obviously is that the more they maintain of their nuclear infrastructure in terms of centrifuges… those are issues that obviously raise concerns,” he said.